Youth Organizations

I have made mention on numerous occasions that I have coached baseball for Mountainville Memorial Youth Association for four out of the last five years now. During that time, some things have been consistent: 1) Kids are better athletes now then when I played, but worse "ball players"; 2) I still can't beat East Side Memorial; and 3) Organizations are churning out great kids.

I am really concerned, however, about the financial and organizational state of our youth associations. Year in and and year out, there are organizations that lack of proper and safe equipment, simply do not enough kids and who fail to pay their city dues in a timely fashion.

As a result, the athletic leagues suffer.

I have sat through meetings of youth organizations where they debate the merits of candy sales vs. hoagie sales for their fundraising efforts. This is all well and good, but at the end of the day, things have gotten quite expensive: one good bats costs $100; baseballs range between $25 and $75/dozen. As such, better fundraising and revenue-raising activities need to be explored.

To that end, I believe that the City should sponsor training seminars geared towards fundraising, accounting practices and organizational structure that will help ensure that these vital organizations are run in the most efficient and effective manner possible.

I have spoken with Kevin Easterling, the new Director of Recreation and the members of A-Youth (the umbrella organization for these groups) about the this topic and have received a lot of support for this plan. Furthermore, I have begun to identify funding sources to pay for this event. If we strengthen the youth organizations, we will make great strides in improving our City.

Quick Hits

Wow, it has been wayyyyy too long since I last posted. What I'd like to do now is put a few things down that I have seen/done over the last month or so. I promise that I will add something policy/issue related within a week...

But until then, here's the quick hits:

• The Great Allentown Fair was awesome. I don't particularly agree with the increase in the admission price, but was very cool nonetheless. I spent quite a bit of time there talking to residents and visitors to the City about what they want to see. No surprise, crime was a popular topic, but many folks mentioned that they have no problem spending time and money in the City so long as they had a reason to. The Brewworks has been a huge shot in the arm and people are really excited about the Iron Pigs. Oh, and this was the first Fair for Sarah (our daughter).
• I spoke at a meeting of the A-Youth Organization - they are the umbrella organization for the youth associations in the City (Mountainville, UT, WEYC, ESYC, etc). I will post more about my support for these programs in the near future, but in a nutshell, I came away impressed with the organization's willingness to try new things to support our youth programs.
• Congratulations to Tara of Mayfair (full disclosure - I am a Member of the Mayfair Board of Directors) on running a wonderful program with a troop from Cirque de Solei. On very short notice, she helped pull together a really, really impressive program with these fantastic performers at the Allentown Art's Park.
• Wearing 2 hats (COS to Rep. Mann and Member of the LANTA Board of Directors), I was at the dedication of the new LANTA/Parking Authority Bus Terminal at 6th and Linden Street. I firmly believe that parking and mass transportation are two of the most overlooked aspects of urban revitalization, and I am proud to have played a (very small) roll in helping improve both conditions in Center City. If you haven't seen this new building, you should go to Symphony Hall to see a show and park in the new deck.

Check back in a few days. I'll be talking further about A-Youth and sports in the City.